The Tendency toward Electronic Health Use among Physicians of Educational Hospitals in Zahedan, Iran

Electronic health (e-health) is the application of new technologies in health care. In order to provide good services, the framework for the use of e-health should be based on the perception and factors affecting it. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the tendency toward e-health services use among physicians in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
The present study was a survey study. The study population consisted of all physicians working in 5 educational hospitals of this university, from among which a total of 140 individuals participated in this study. A researcher-made questionnaire based on variables of the Davies and Dunnebil et al. models was used to collect data. To analyze the data, descriptive and analytical statistics (linear and multiple regression) were used.
The tendency toward e-health use among physicians was at a moderate level. The evaluation of the structural model also showed that the perceived ease of use had a positive impact on perceived usefulness and the behavioral tendency of using e-health. Moreover, perceived usefulness had a direct effect on the behavioral tendency of using e-health. External variables also positively affected the two variables of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of e-health.
It can be concluded that higher perceived ease of use and usefulness of e-health technologies among health care personnel means that they are more accepting of and willing to use this technology. Therefore, for the comprehensive use of e-health services in providing medical care, adequate training should be provided and barriers such as structural, financial, and attitudinal barriers should be addressed before e-health services are implemented.